2017 Issue

24 O n February 25th of this year, the Utah Engineers Council hosted its annual awards banquet at the Interform Club Real room at the Rio Tinto Stadium. Guests began arriving at 6 pm for the social hour. Most were pre-registered and found their name tags and table assignments waiting for them. The ease of this year’s regis- tration process was due to the behind the scenes efforts of Chris Perry, IEEE, who crafted the process and expertly ex- ecuted it. We also wish to thank, Max and Christine Gandy and Susan Merrill who assisted at the registration table. As guests moved from the lobby into the banquet room, they were welcomed with the live music of Dee-Dee Dar- by-Duffin and Friends. Dee Dee has been charming audi- ences around Utah with her sultry jazz vocals backed by keyboards, bass and percussion. The music was the perfect accompaniment for a wonder- fully engaging social hour of networking and lively conver- sation; and became a tasteful pairing to a delicious meal. Dinner was served buffet style with a choice of Chianti braised short ribs or pan seared, roasted chicken, roasted potatoes and bistro style vegetables. Peach cobbler served with a vanilla crème Chantilly provided a decadent coda to the meal. Our annual banquet coincides with Engineers Week which is celebrated in the United States on the week that includes the anniversary of George Washington’s birthday (February 22, 1732). In addition to being our first president, he is also recognized as our nation’s first engineer – in addition to his work as a surveyor, he was an engineer in his own right in- venting innovative tools for use at Mount Vernon. Engineers Week was started in 1951 by the National Society of Profes- sional Engineers. That same year, J. Vernon Sharp served as the Utah Engineers Council first chairperson. At this year’s banquet, members of 15 of the most active engineering societies in Utah were in attendance. Many of these societies put forward nominees for Utah’s highest honors in engineering. The Utah Engineers Council was pleased to award Dr. Paul J. Barr of USU as Utah’s Engi- neering Educator; Jake Merrill of Nano Composite Prod- ucts, Inc. as Utah’s Fresh Face in Engineering; and Justin Don Naser of ARW Engineers as Utah’s Engineer of the Year for 2017. Also honored was this year’s MESA (Mathe- matics, Engineering, Science Achievement) Teacher of the Year, Tami Pandoff of E.G. King Elementary School, Davis School District. We were fortunate to have as our keynote speaker for the evening Martin Frey. Martin is a graduate in Mechanical En- gineering from Brigham Young University, a former director for the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development 2017 Utah Engineers Council Banquet and senior director for Cisco, where he spent 13 years in the Silicon Valley. He recently entered the Guinness Book of World’s Records when he became the first person to climb the highest summits on all seven continents and to sail the seven seas, circumnavigating the world. His message to audiences around the country challenges in- dividuals and organizations to step out of their comfort zones. He effectively provided such a challenge to the Utah Engineers Council when he offered to waive his standard speaker's fee if we could increase the number of $1500 scholarships awarded at our annual banquet from four to nine. We accepted this challenge but not without some concern that we had gotten in over our heads: more than doubling the number of scholarships typically awarded. We were surprised by the response and generosity of our donors, and in the end we were able to fully fund 13 scholarships. Our scholarship winners included two students from Weber State University, four students from the University of Utah, three students each from Brigham Young University and Utah State University and, new this year, a student attending Southern Utah University. All of these institutions provide their engineering students with ABET accredited programs. The evening was conducted smoothly through the welcom- ing of our guests, the dinner, and the presentation of the scholarships and awards by our capable master of ceremo- nies and Chair, Charles Vono. Val Hale, the current Execu- tive Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Devel- opment, heralded our event by reading Governor Gary R. Herbert’s Proclamation praising the contributions made by the engineering profession in the State of Utah. While at no time did the evening feel rushed, our keynote and concluding speaker was introduced before 8:30 pm, which positioned us perfectly for the inspiration that followed. Included in the tales Martin Frey shared of his adventures was a chilling description of the house sized, shifting blocks of ice of the Khumbu Ice Fall. These have claimed many climbers as they leave Base Camp toward the summit of Everest. Between these blocks, or “seracs,” are networks of crevasses, some over a hundred feet deep, which slowly articulate open and closed like the icy jaws of a primeval colossus. These fissures are crossed on bridges constructed from aluminum ladders lashed together with the climber in full mountaineering gear - including stiff boots and crampons. To disabuse anyone of any romantic views of crossing glass smooth seas propelled by a gentle following breeze, Martin showed video of him aboard the 70 foot racing yacht, christened the “Visit Seattle,” crossing the North Pacific on